Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS - Free Report) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,706,757 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 131,832 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.28% of Leidos worth $245,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LDOS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Leidos during the 4th quarter worth about $266,419,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Leidos by 510.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 999,661 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $144,011,000 after acquiring an additional 835,930 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Leidos by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,630,448 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $378,942,000 after acquiring an additional 682,532 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Leidos by 13.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,504,392 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $571,216,000 after acquiring an additional 405,256 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Leidos by 435.1% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 464,573 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $67,032,000 after purchasing an additional 377,756 shares during the last quarter. 76.12% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen downgraded Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $200.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Leidos from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Leidos to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Leidos from $162.00 to $156.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Leidos from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $179.23.

Insider Activity at Leidos

In other news, Director Gary Stephen May sold 2,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.24, for a total transaction of $279,278.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,287.36. This represents a 15.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Kovarik, Jr. sold 1,511 shares of Leidos stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $203,320.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,408 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $862,260.48. The trade was a 19.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Leidos Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE LDOS traded up $3.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.61. 1,153,486 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,211,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.94. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $123.62 and a one year high of $202.90.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The aerospace company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.13. Leidos had a return on equity of 30.93% and a net margin of 7.53%. On average, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Leidos's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.32%.

About Leidos

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health segments. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.